What is the Cooking for One or Two Programme?

The Cooking for One or Two programme is a five session cooking skills programme that was originally designed for men aged 65 years and over, who lived alone or cooked for only one or two people and were members of the veteran community. However, the programme has evolved; it is now designed to enable any Australian community group or individual to use it. In each of the five new sessions the group cooks a delicious, easy, quick and nourishing two course meal, including a main and dessert. It is not a cooking demonstration, but an opportunity for participants to develop their cooking skills in a supportive environment. The group then enjoys the meal together. A healthy lifestyle discussion is included in each session to complement the healthy cooking and eating lesson learned.

How long does the Cooking for One or Two Programme run?

The programme consists of five sessions, which will run for approximately three hours each. The sessions will be held during the day so that the group members can eat the meal prepared for their lunch or dinner.

Who will run the Cooking for One or Two Programme?

Any group running the programme will be required to identify a facilitator and assistant who will be knowledgeable in group education, basic cooking skills, food safety and occupational health and safety prior to delivering the programme.

Goals and objectives

Goal:

Improved quality of life for individuals by providing lessons in basic cooking skills, nutrition and, for older persons, healthy ageing in an environment of positive social engagement.

Programme objectives:

By the end of the Cooking for One or Two programme participants will have:

Improved basic cooking skills.

Consumed a greater variety of foods.

Consumed at least three meals per day.

Partaken in one or two social interactions per week that involved food (either a meal or snack).

The Facilitator Manual

The Facilitator Manual is designed to take a group who wish to undertake a programme through, step-by-step, the requirements to organise and conduct a Cooking for One or Two programme including: venue selection, the equipment and utensils needed, shopping lists for ingredients and evaluating your programme.

The Facilitator Manual is broken into seven sections in a Word document format and can be easily printed in either colour or black and white. As well as the manual, a basic PowerPoint presentation has been prepared for each of the five cooking sessions.

Funding Support and Further Information

There may be some limited financial support available for any ex-service organisation or community group conducting a programme targeted at veteran community members, including current and former Australian Defence Force members. Talk with your local Veterans’ Access Network office about support available through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Health and Wellbeing funding or, for larger Programmes, through the Veteran and Community Grants programme.

For further information on the Cooking for One or Two programme, please e-mail: CMBSHPPST@dva.gov.au with your contact details and someone will contact you.

Other Resources

Recipes for Life

Recipes for Life brings together healthy eating and healthy living ideas and contains 45 nutritious recipes as well as other health tips for people aged 65 year or older.

Masterclasses

The masterclasses are an extension of the initial Cooking for One or Two programme and it is assumed that both facilitators and participants have already participated in the initial programme.

Each of the masterclasses involve two sessions where the group cooks an easy, quick and nourishing two course meal, including a main and dessert. Masterclasses are an opportunity for participants to further develop and enhance their cooking skills in a supportive environment.

As per the initial programme, the masterclasses have an Introduction section and Appendices, as well as two sessions for each masterclass with a basic PowerPoint presentation for each session.

Recipes Web Sites

A search of the internet will quickly produce thousands of recipes; all those provided below have recipes specifically for one or two people.

Healthier. Happier - A Queensland Government initiative, the Healthier. Happier. campaign website has a range of recipes and nutritional information.

Taste.com.au - Extensive site with recipes and meals to suit individual preferences. Also a wide selection of recipes for cooking for one or two and ‘how to’ videos which include tips such as: microwaving vegetables, steaming food, preparing the perfect pasta and many more!

Food Network - Contains recipes, links and a section on Cooking for two.

Senior Chef - New Zealand site with a focus on cooking for one or two.

Kitchen Scoop - American site with a section for cooking for one or two.